Former Dover school board chair charged in Ponzi scheme

Nickolas Skaltsis arraigned on 19 counts of theft

A former chair of the Dover School Board received treatment at the state hospital in Concord Thursday after being charged with running a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Nickolas Skaltsis was arraigned at Rochester Circuit Court on 19 counts of theft. State investigators said his alleged Ponzi scheme was not complicated, but still did plenty of damage.

Officials with the Attorney General’s office said Skaltsis owes investors more than $250,000. Investigators said Skaltsis convinced friends and associates to invest real estate projects, but instead took their money for personal use.

“A lot of them were associates, were friends,” said James Boffetti, New Hampshire Senior Assistant Attorney General. “Mr. Skaltsis was involved in Dover politics, so he knew them, and they knew him, and that was part of what was going on here.”

Investigators said Skaltsis pitched alleged victims on a plan to flip distressed properties in Strafford County, fixing up the homes then selling them for a profit. He promised returns of as much as 14 percent, according to officials.

Money from at least a dozen investors poured in. The state alleges Skaltsis deposited those checks in his personal accounts and then spent the cash at locations like Hannaford, Walgreens, JCPenney’s and the cat doctor.

“We feel that a lot of it was used for day-to-day expenses,” said Jeffrey Spill of the New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation.

John O’Connor, former superintendent of Dover Schools, was among the investors. He described Skaltsis as a friend.

“I had a close friend who I trusted and invested with, and it turns out that that investment clearly was fraudulent,” O’Connor said.

The Attorney General’s Office said the court allowed Skaltsis to remain in the care of the New Hampshire State Hospital on personal recognizance bail after Thursday’s arraignment. He is not allowed to leave the premises without permission from his treatment team.

The state has filed an injunction to freeze Skaltsis’ assets. Securities regulators said it isn’t clear yet if alleged victims will be able to recoup their investments.